Generation Y has the world's biggest car makers so nervous, they're rewriting sales training manuals and have issued bulletins to dealers warning them not to use the lingo of younger buyers.

The new force: generation Eminem

16 January 2003

Today's under 25s are emerging as a strong consumer force and it is predicted their buying power will ultimately exceed that of baby boomers (today's 38 to 57-year-olds) and Generation X (today's 26 to 37-year-olds).

"Baby boomers are still the dominant consumer force," a car industry analyst told The Detroit News last week, "but Generation Y will surpass them in income by 2020."

Generation Y buyers are "really difficult to reach" according to Toyota spokesman Jim Farley. He told The Detroit News "they are the most professional consumer we've ever seen. They are a lot more sceptical."

Honda's American sales force is undergoing special tutoring before selling a new model aimed at under 25s. Gen Yers are "less tolerant of real sales tactics," a spokesman said.

Chrysler's product chief, Jim Schroer, said: "Gen Y buyers are unimpressed by the hard sell. You have to participate in their world. If you run standard advertising, their BS alarm goes off because they're so knowledgeable."

Schroer said the industry would probably see an increase in product placement in movies and advertising in or near areas where Gen Yers hang out, such as nightclubs.

Billboard and bus advertising would also likely increase because Gen Yers don't watch as much TV as Gen Xers and baby boomers.

But Detroit News columnist Dan Lienert wrote last week: "Why are car makers having a hard time marketing to teenagers and twentysomethings? They're trying too hard. They should steer away from trying to communicate ... and just build decent products."